X-CLUDED DECISION TO DROP EVENTS IRKS ATHLETES.

Byline: Ross Siler Staff Writer

The first three sports to go were kiteskiing, mountain biking and windsurfing, all dropped after just one year from ESPN's then-named Extreme Games. Soon to follow were bungy jumping, skysurfing and the unforgettable street luge.

Now Brandon Meadows, a 23-year-old BMX rider from Sacramento, only can look at the two X Games gold medals framed on his office wall and ponder a championship he likely never will get the chance to defend.

Only a year ago, Meadows won his second Downhill BMX title at X Games IX. The night before, Meadows remembered, he was so nervous he barely could sleep.

But Downhill BMX was one of several events not brought back for the 10th anniversary of X Games that start Thursday at Staples Center, part of the annual lineup changes that ESPN organizers say are vital to the Games remaining the premier event in action sports.

``I like to keep it fresh,'' said Scott Hanley, the X Games director of sports and competition. ``Even the sports that we've had around for 10 years, we try to progress as much as possible.''

They are decisions made with everything from nationwide participation numbers to television ratings in mind, at the end of what Hanley described as a ``painstaking'' process of meetings after each Games.

This year, the X Games dropped eight events - highlighted by Aggressive In-Line Park, Downhill BMX and Skateboard Vert Doubles - and added four events, including Moto X SuperMoto and Skateboard Big Air.

Not that the decisions were made without controversy. BMX racing will have a place at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Yet Downhill BMX will not be part of the X Games.

``It made me very disappointed to see the one event of the year that could have made BMX racing huge go away in the blink of an eye,'' Meadows wrote in an e-mail from an overseas competition.

The decision not to bring back Aggressive In-Line Park was equally upsetting to some. In-line skating debuted at the first Extreme Games in 1995, near the height of the initial Rollerblade craze.

``They kind of said we didn't get that much interest,'' said two-time gold medalist Jaren Grob, who has petitioned to bring back Park. ``But every time we would skate, the crowd was full. I don't know what they were talking about.''

The X Games elected to keep Aggressive In-Line Vert in the lineup this year. But Rick Bratman, president of Aggressive Skaters Association, said Park is ``infinitely'' more popular than Vert among skaters.

``I think it was an unfortunate decision that wasn't a reflection in any way of the progression in these sports,'' Bratman said.

The issue has high stakes for each side. For example, Valencia's Mike Day, who took bronze last year in Downhill BMX, got prestigious sponsorships from Red Bull and Oakley largely based on his X Games performance.

ESPN, meanwhile, will air the X Games live for the first time and had to streamline the competition as a result. Some stayed, others went the way of sport climbing and barefoot jumping.

``That was the Olympics for my sport and we no longer have it,'' said Trevor Meyer, a three-time Bike Stunt Flatland gold medalist. ``We still have local contests and small stuff, but nothing like that in America.''

No sport dropped from the Games ever has been brought back. The new events, meanwhile, represent what ESPN believes are the next step in skateboarding and motocross.

SuperMoto will bring supercross king Jeremy McGrath to the Games for the first time. And Big Air will send skateboarders Danny Way, Bob Burnquist and Andy Macdonald sailing off a nine-story ramp.

``When the mainstream audience sees this,'' legendary skateboarder Tony Hawk said of Big Air, ``they're going to be shocked.''

Hanley admitted that decisions about what stays and goes are getting tougher each year. Skysurfing and street luge were largely fringe sports to a mainstream audience. But in-line skating and BMX boast millions of participants.

Additionally, X Games organizers disputed the notion that one sport must be dropped for another to be added. Some athletes felt that was the case with SuperMoto.

``We don't drop sports to add sports,'' said Hanley, who added a team-formatted surfing event a year ago. ``We analyze each sport on an individual basis.''

The best argument for ESPN's decision to alter its lineup comes from Moto X Freestyle, now the Games' featured attraction. Moto X was added only in 1999 but drew 41,700 to the Coliseum last year for the Freestyle finals, won by Travis Pastrana.

One person who won't be watching this year's Games is Meadows. The rumors he heard last year before winning gold at Woodward West about his sport's contract not being renewed proved true.

``I am not upset with the actual Games but maybe how they go about making decisions,'' Meadows wrote. ``ESPN is the No. 1 leader in sports, of course they have the ability to make or break a certain action sport.

``They are a business and in it to make money. We can't be mad at them for that.''

Ross Siler, [phone]

ross.siler(at)dailynews.com

Then ...

Lineup for 1995 Extreme Games

Aggressive In-Line Skating; Barefoot Jumping; Bike Stunt; Downhill In-Line; Eco Challenge; Kiteskiing; Mountain Biking; Skateboard; Skysurfing; Sport Climbing; Street Luge; Windsurfing

... Now

Lineup for 2004 X Games X

Aggressive In-Line Skating; Bike Stunt; Moto X; Skateboard; Surfing; Wakeboard

CAPTION(S):

5 photos, 2 boxes

Photo:

(1 -- 5) The X Games evolve each year and, with that evolution, sports come and go.

ESPN/Shazaam

Box:

(1) Then ... (see text)

(2) Now ... (see text)